


Even though we both know we’re liars

by birthtwinss



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Living Together, M/M, Sort Of, loosely based on The Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29521428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birthtwinss/pseuds/birthtwinss
Summary: When Mark and Donghyuck are asked how they met, they say during a trip Mark made to Korea years ago.In reality, they met months ago, right after Johnny asked Mark to help a friend.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 16
Kudos: 149
Collections: Challenge #5 — I heard a secret..





	Even though we both know we’re liars

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello once again! I missed my boys so I wrote this....and I ended up feeling very single
> 
> *this fics is unbetaed so accept my apologies in advance

  
  


Mark fidgets in his seat, waiting for the officer to finally speak.

Next to him, Doghyuck gives Mark a lazy smile as he wraps an arm around him, and Mark inhales sharply when he feels the pressure of Donghyuck's hand rubbing the back of Mark's neck. 

Oh. So he's going to be daring.

Mark can feel the officer's heavy gaze on them, judging whether what she sees is real or not. And Mark, who has never done things by halves, puts on his best smile and turns to give what he expects is a fond look to Donghyuck, running his finger through the Donghyuck's bicep. 

He can be daring too. 

Donghyuck arm muscles tense under his touch and the tips of his ears turn pink. Mark smirks inwardly at his small victory. By now, Mark has gotten more used to Donghyuck's openly affectionate persona than what he would like to admit —yes, he doesn't avoid Donghyuck's touch and he doesn't complain anymore either, but he's hardly ever the one who initiates it. 

He feels a pang of guilt thinking about how much he has come to enjoy it.

The officer clears her throat. “Well, as both of you're aware, the purpose of this interview to prove the authenticity of your relationship, that is to confirm that your engagement isn't a sham to gain immigration benefits eluding the U.S. immigration laws.”

“I’ll ask a few questions. Basic information you should know about each other.” The woman says in a severe voice that has Mark’s stomach turning into knots. “They won't be directed solely at the foreign national part, that is Lee Donghyuck." 

Mark drops his hands in his lap and nods, trying to stay composed. 

"Would you like to say something before we begin?" 

“No, that’s fine.” Donghyuck  **seems** the picture of nonchalance while Mark barely manages to shake his head. 

“Great. So how did you first meet?”

Mark proceeds to tell her the story of how they supposedly met. "I went to Korea with my cousin when I graduated from high school. At that time neither of us spoke the language well, so we got a bit lost, but Johnny, my cousin, managed to ask Hyuck to help us with a couple of things." His voice trails off. "When we left, I had barely spoken with Hyuck, but Johnny kept in touch with him all this time. We met again here."

It's the first question and he's lying already.  _ No _ , Mark thinks,  _ just twisting the truth. _

Indeed, Mark and Johnny traveled to Korea years ago.

Indeed, Johnny was the one who introduced them both.

Those are the facts and those facts can be easily proven.

It's only the details that are different.

Being raised in a bilingual home, both Mark and Johnny were fluent in Korean when they traveled to Korea. They didn't need someone to translate for them, but who knows? they could've crossed paths with Donghyuck at some point anyway.

Johnny had explained Donghyuck's situation. His student visa was expired and since he had already started working in a theatre company and been given his first solo, he couldn't go back to Korea. It'd take him too much time until he had his papers ready and in the meantime, he'd lose what he had worked for.

Unless a citizen agreed to marry him, or at least pretended to have the intention to do so in front of an immigration officer, which was the quickest way to guarantee his stay. 

Even then, Donghyuck had been calm and collected, only the crack in his voice betrayed him. 

Mark didn't know what possessed him to agree. It's better if he doesn't think about it.

“I actually had a small crush on Johnny back then.” Donghyuck chuckles. 

The woman turns to Donghyuck. “Which city were Mr.Lee and his cousin visiting?”

“Seoul.” Donghyuck answers right off the bat, smiling.

They're off to a good start, and Mark allows himself to relax. He made sure to submit the documents, and even pictures, that proved he was in Seoul during the summer of 2015. And as for Donghyuck, he was attending high school in Gundong, Seoul, at that time.

“What did you two have in common?”

"Not much." Mark recalls. "Apart from Johnny, I don't think we had much in common. Donghyuck had just graduated from art school and I started working as an editor assistant for a magazine."

"It's all thanks to Johnny." Donghyuck agrees. "When he found out I was here, he insisted we should hang out and, somehow, here we are."

Mark hopes the answer doesn’t feel too vague to the officer because, as a matter of fact, it kinda had been his idea. 

He agreed to help Donghyuck on one condition: they'd have to stick to the truth as much as possible. Donghyuck took care of the rest. He prepared them both for this. To keep their story consistent and prevent any of them from forgetting something, Donghyuck had made sure they got something to tell. He moved into Mark’s apartment, introduced his friends to Mark, and insisted they went out every so often, their so-called dates, and recorded everything.

To Mark's relief, the officer doesn't seem to suspect anything and continues with the questions.

_ "Which college Donghyuck Lee graduated from?" New York University _ . Donghyuck has a sweatshirt with white NYU lettering across the front he uses as a pajama.  _ “Is Mark Lee religious?” He’s a Christian _ . Donghyuck had seen Mark doing the sign of the cross before eating.  _ "What's Donghyuck Lee's blood type?" O positive _ . It's the same as Mark.  _ "Is Mark Lee an organ donor?" Fucking yes, I'm sorry. Yes, he is.  _

The next question catches them by surprise. “What’s Lee Donghyuck’s favorite color?”

Donghyuck blinks slowly and Mark lets a satisfied smile tug up his lips. Now, this is funny...and it's also a problem. 

It's funny because weeks ago when they had been practicing in the living room, using small flashcards to ask simple questions and memorize the information, Donghyuck had laughed at the exact same question. 

Right after  _ when is your birthday? _ and  _ are you allergic to something?  _ Mark had pulled another card and read it out loud. "What's your favorite color?”

Donghyuck looked at him unimpressed. “That's a dumb question.”

Mark made a soft, indignant noise in response. "It's not. These are the things we are supposed to know."

"Who even has a favorite color?" Donghyuck asked, pulling another card.

It's a problem because they never answered the question. 

But Mark can guess. "He doesn't have a favorite color." 

Donghyuck hums in agreement and the officer gives her full attention to him. "Mark's favorite color?"

"Black." Mark is surprised by how quickly Donghyuck replies without hesitation. He's also surprised because his answer is unexpectedly correct. "He owns way too many black hoodies." Donghyuck complains.

Mark flushes violently at the memory of Donghyuck standing in front of Mark's wardrobe full of black hoodies while wearing one of Mark's black hoodies. "I think I'll be doing you a favor by taking one of these." Donghyuck shook his head in mock disappointment, "Do you mind? I've run out of clean clothes and I'm also running late for rehearsals."

Donghyuck looked much better in his clothes than Mark himself. He looked soft and beautiful, lovely, and Mark wanted to tell him he could keep it. 

Instead, he pointed at Donghyuck's bedroom. "I did the laundry yesterday. You have clean clothes on the basket."

"Oh," Donghyuck mumbled, expression slightly crestfallen, "Thanks."

Mark added in a rush. "It's fine if you don't have time to change right now, you can use it." 

In the end, Donghyuck didn’t return the hoodie and Mark didn’t ask for it either.

“In that case, thanks for putting on a shirt today, Mr. Lee.” Mark looks up in time to catch Donghyuck snickering.

They answer the rest of the questions with relative ease, after living together for months they know each other's habits, they know what to say.

_ “How long have you been together?” Over a year, thirteen months in March.  _ Thirteen months in March since they actually meet each other.  _ "What did you do for your first anniversary?" We went our for dinner _ . Along with Johnny, who has happy to see they hadn't killed each other after a month Donghyuck moved with Mark.  _ "Who proposed to whom?" Donghyuck asked me to marry him. _ The whole thing had been Donghyuck's idea, after all.  _ "Do your parents approve your relationship?" My parents...they haven't accepted the fact that I'm gay. _ Mark grunts because that's a big fat lie. Donghyuck's parents couldn't care less about his son’s sexuality. They haven't accepted the fact that he's a dancer.

“Mr. Lee, how would you describe your partner?” The officer interlocks her fingers on top of the desk and looks at Mark directly in the eye.

_ Stick to the truth as close as close as possible _ . “Donghyuck is passionate.” And that is very much true, he could talk about that for hours. 

He’s passionate when he dances, pouring his heart and soul onto it, moving fluidly as the music fills him up and everything fades away but him. 

He's passionate when he talks about his favorite places in the city he has made his home, walking with Mark by the hand, pointing a the different streets and spots he likes to go.

Hell, he’s passionate even when he argues —and that's some firsthand knowledge Mark has about it.

But the officer straightens her back raising an eyebrow and Mark can't find the words, he can't move. The only thing he can do is blush.

Donhgyuck takes Mark's hand, his thumb smoothing over Mark's knuckles, and it's enough for Mark to remember why is he doing this. If he messes up, he’ll get a fine but the consequences for Donghyuck are far worse.

Mark clears his throat. "Donghyuck has always been like this, since the first day I met him, a flame burning too bright. He’s unforgettable. Unstoppable, and I'm—I’m just glad I get to see what he’ll do in the future, to be part of it.”

The woman nods, satisfied, and asks Donghyuck the same question. 

Mark wants to see him, but Donghyuck averts his gaze before answering, an unreadable expression in his face. “Annoying.” Donghyuck blurts out. 

The officer gives him a questioning look and Donghyuck bites his lip. "Mark is annoying because he's the kind of person that is too good actually exists. He's annoying because he has no sense of self-preservation and gets in too much trouble to help strangers." Donghyuck squeezes Mark's hand, still not looking at him. "He's caring and kind and I can’t believe someone like him accepted to be with me. No demands, no expectations. He makes me feel safe and accepted, and I love him for that.” His voice is filled with gratitude and something else, something Mark doesn't recognize. 

Mark feels warm all over and he has to swallow hard to keep himself from speaking because this is nothing like what they practiced. Donghyuck is improvising and that can only be problematic. 

But the thing is, Donghyuck is alarmingly good at this whole thing, every touch is comfortable and natural, and every word sounds convincing when Donghyuck says it, even to Mark’s own ears. As if Donghyuck was in love with Mark for real, as if Donghyuck couldn’t take his hands from Mark.

It makes him wonder if it’s a dancer thing, if this is just another stage for him and he’s giving his all to tell the story he wants his audience to believe. And boy is he succeeding. 

One look at the officer tells Mark that she already fell for it, and, honestly Donghyuck could totally fool Mark —which, again, shouldn’t be a surprise since he knows how good Donghyuck is.

“Well, that was certainly enlighting.” The officer grabs a stamp and puts it inside Donghyuck’s passport. “Your application has been approved, your green card will arrive by mail in the next 60 days. Any questions?”

  
  


****

“We did it, uh.” They’re walking out into the cold towards the parking lot, and Mark has his hands in his pockets, looking at the melting snow in the ground "Well, I'm taking too much credit here. You're the true performer."

Donghyuck stops abruptly in his tracks and Mark doesn't realize until he has almost reached the car.

“You  _ are _ really annoying.” Donghyuck shouts, walking up to him. "You played your part flawlessly, but I never lied. Can’t you tell?”

“I played my part flawlessly?” Mark asks.

“Annoying  _ and _ oblivious!” Donghyuck huffs in exasperation. “I’m saying I love you Mark, don’t you get it?”

“You do?” Mark feels something blooming in his chest, something new and exciting. 

Donghyuck nods, closing the distance. “We’re already engaged, what’s the harm if we try dating first?”

Turns out Donghyuck is also passionate when he’s kissing Mark. And this time, he doesn’t feel guilty if he enjoys Donghyuck’s touch a little too much.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> and that's it! if you made it until here thanks a lot! thanks a lot to each of the mods for their hard work, hopefully I'll see you next round <3
> 
> kudos and comments are always appreciated!


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